


Home, Made

by denynothing1



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-03-21
Updated: 2008-03-21
Packaged: 2017-11-27 07:04:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/659223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/denynothing1/pseuds/denynothing1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The best way to feel at home is to carry home with you wherever you go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Home, Made

**Author's Note:**

> Set following the Season 4 episode, "Missing."
> 
> This is for minnow1212.

~***~

 

Oceanside, Cherry Point, Landstuhl, Osan, Colorado Springs, Atlantis. Even before she knew what a stargate could do, her life was a series of jumps taking her farther and farther from home. She liked it that way. For Master Sergeant (Mess) Tiffani Harold, home had never really been a home, and it wasn't till the day she walked into a base kitchen that she felt like she belonged somewhere. New galaxy? Big deal. People still had to eat, no matter where they were

Though she'd been part of the First Wave, Tiffani's off world trips were few in number. Who better to keep the home convection ovens burning than the chief cook? 

Not being able to step through the gate very often meant she prized the items that came back through it to her. It wasn't long before the Atlantean away teams learned that a small gift to Master Sergeant Harold of otherworldly seeds, leaves, fruits or grains meant a break from MREs in the best possible way. The locked cupboard in the Atlantean version of a kitchen held precious treasures from home: cardamom pods and Ancho chiles, fennel and caraway and anise seeds, galangal powder and gumbo file and peppercorns in every color known to Earth. But over time, the vanilla-almond flavor of Zeronta peel became a familiar addition, as did the round, midnight blue seeds the Marines liked to call Pow pepper.

So as long as they cleared Medical and Xenobotany, offerings to the Atlantean kitchen were a common occurrence. That was why the sight of Teyla Emmagen entering the kitchen carrying a small package of what looked like banana leaves was no real surprise. 

Tiffani and Teyla smiled a greeting to one other. Master Sergeant Harold loved to cook and Teyla loved to eat. Lasting friendships had been built on far less. "Something for tonight's salad?" Tiffani asked. 

She should have known that was too pedestrian a guess, as things in Pegasus were rarely what they seemed. "Not quite." Teyla began pulling one leaf after another off the bundle. "I believe you might be able to do something with this, Sergeant. I--" A look of consternation crossed her face. "Am not the most proficient of my people in this area."

"Not a problem, ma'am." Their one joint effort at making Athosian Toranta soup had rather emphatically cemented their respective roles as cook and appreciator of cooking. Tiffani still hadn't gotten the lime green stains out of that particular apron. "Another Athosian specialty?"

"It is for Athosian spring bread," Teyla said. The final broad leaf was pulled away to reveal a lumpy, oozing, sticky brown mass. 

Tiffani blinked, then peered closer. The lump was… bubbling. And smelled strongly of fermented peaches. "Sourdough-- er, bread starter?" Excitement fizzed through her; the bubbling dough had nothing on her. "I wanted to bring a starter from home, but they were worried about the fermenting agents getting loose. So this is native to your… oh."

"I do not know much about such things, but it was one of the items we made sure to bring along from Athos to Atlantis. And from Atlantis to New Athos and from there to… this planet." 

Teyla's face-- well, if Tiffani were inclined to melodrama, she'd say it crumpled, but it might be that only someone who'd known Teyla a while could detect the sorrow in her normally self-possessed expression. "We call it 'Aalac,'" Teyla continued determinedly. "It is the same word as the one for 'Sister-Aunt' -- traditionally, the member of the family who provides. We only had to find a source of ground jelnak to keep it going and we were able to trade for that on several worlds. But now the settlement is…" Teyla's voice trailed off. After a long pause, she said softly, "They left it behind."

"Ah." Tiffani swallowed. The news of what had happened to the Athosian settlement had spread quickly. "May I?" She gently took the bundle from Teyla's hands.

Teyla drew herself up. "Of course, we will find my people soon. But I would like to keep this safe, and I thought someone with your knowledge, Sergeant, would be the best caretaker for the Aalac. I know you have many duties--"

"It would be an honor," Tiffani replied.

~***~

Late into the evening, a week after her conversation with Teyla, Tiffani got the alert that SGA-1 had just stepped back through the gate, miraculously undamaged for a change. Dining shifts on Atlantis were pretty much continuous. Though feeding over a hundred hungry scientists and military personnel round the clock was a daunting task, Master Sergeant Harold had managed to put together a solid staff over the years; people who could think on their feet and execute both the routine meals the base staff required and meet the challenge of pulling together something appetizing for teams returning from the field. 

She was grateful that she could leave the next day's breakfast prep to Corporal Gonzales and PFC Tiozzo. She pulled down a cloth-covered bowl from the top of one of the enormous chill chests. The tangy scent of peaches just a little past their ripest point greeted her nose as she lifted the cloth and smiled down at the smooth, light brown ball of dough. A small portion of the Aalac had fed happily on wheat flour for the past week, creating a new, hybrid starter, unique in two galaxies.

Amused at the idea that something as prosaic as bread could have intergalactic implications, Tiffani gave the ball a satisfying punch, tipped it out onto a floured board and began to knead.

 

~***~

 

"Got anything for us that doesn't taste like an MRE, Master Sergeant?" The sight of Colonel Sheppard leaning in the doorway, hair damp from a shower (but still reassuringly spiky) told Tiffani exactly what sort of mission SGA-1 had returned from. Unlike Specialist Dex, who was hovering over Sheppard's shoulder and looking highly interested in the plates Tiffani had placed on the line, it wasn't always easy to get Sheppard to eat. If he was actually asking about food, that meant, despite the lack of injuries, that the mission had been exhausting or frustrating or both.

"I'll bring it out to you in a moment, Sir." Tiffani returned Sheppard's surprised look with an impassive one of her own.

"No need, Master Sergeant. We can carry out a plate of whatever you've got on the stove for ourselves and Teyla and McKay."

"I've got a little surprise for you all, Sir."

Sheppard turned to look at Dex, then back at Tiffani. "Master Sergeant, I'm afraid we've had about all the surprises we can handle for the week. Something simple will be fine. Er, even--"

"Not squash, is it?" Dex eyed the plates warily, as if looking for a purple mound of balastorkle squash to magically appear.

"How about Mac and Cheese with Djanklem sausage, Toranta soup and some homemade bread?"

"Oh my god, really? If I weren't afraid that Dex would flatten me, I'd say, 'How about you marry me, Sergeant?'" McKay pushed into the room, hair also damp and eyes lit. "I thought we were out of Djanklem sausage. No, no!" He held up a hand as Tiffani started to explain. "We are tired, we are starving, and we take the advice about not inquiring into how sausage is made very, very seriously. Especially in this galaxy. Did you say homemade bread?"

"At the table!" Apparently, a Marine Master Sergeant (Mess) wielding a very large ladle was sufficiently intimidating to even Atlantis's bravest and hungriest. The three men cast only a few last, longing looks at the soup pot on the stove, then sheepishly backed out the door.

 

~***~

 

Tiffani swiftly assembled four plates of creamy noodles and cheese, flecked with crispy brown bits of grilled sausage and four bowls of bright green soup, each topped with a swirl of Raita and slivers of chive. Gonzales and Tiozzo obligingly carried out the fully laden trays, while Tiffani brought up the rear, carrying the covered Athosian basket with its offering, still warm from the oven, nestled inside.

"Sergeant Harold, you did not need to go to this trouble for us. We are perfectly capable of obtaining our own food, and you must have had a long day." Teyla, already seated with Sheppard, McKay and Dex at the team's usual table, looked completely exhausted. 

"I can honestly say I had a great day, ma'am" Tiffani replied. "I hope you enjoy the result." 

She was slightly worried that Teyla would not react well to mixing the precious Aalac with alien ingredients. The look on her face when Tiffani lifted the basket lid and a yeasty peach scent wafted over the table was not reassuring.

"Is it--" Tiffani shot a guilty look at Sheppard, who kept his impassive gaze on Teyla. "I thought you might like me to make, well, not spring bread, because I didn't have the right ingredients--"

"Spring bread?" McKay perked up. "Like we had on New Athos?"

"Teyla?" Still focused on Teyla's face, Sheppard stretched out a hand to keep McKay from reaching into the basket.

"I am fine, Colonel." Teyla lifted her gaze from the basket to Tiffani. Her eyes may have glistened a bit, though Tiffani wouldn't bet on it. "And I am very pleased, Sergeant. Thank you for this gift. Will you join us?"

"I-- " Tiffani glanced uncertainly at Sheppard.

"Have a seat, Master Sergeant." The Colonel leaned over and dragged another chair to the table as Teyla reached into the basket for the fragrant brown loaf.

"Oh, I forgot a knife." Tiffani jumped up.

"It is okay, Sergeant. We do it this way." Teyla smiled and held up the loaf to McKay, who chortled, "Finally!" as he tore off a chunk. The bread was passed around the table till it arrived in Tiffani's hands. Like the bread itself, they still smelled faintly of peaches and yeast, and would for a few more hours, even after multiple washes. Kneading was an intimate process that left the baker's mark on the bread and the bread's essence on the baker. It was one of the thing's Tiffani loved most about it.

The team devoured their dinner, a sight Tiffani didn't often get to see this close. Conversation was intermittent and focused mainly on the food. After replying to Dex's interested questions by explaining the chemistry of the starter, which had the unfortunate effect of making McKay exclaim, "Dear god, I wanted to know that even less than I wanted to know about the sausage," Tiffani turned to Teyla, who had been almost silent during the meal. "Did I tell you how much the smell of the bread reminds me of an Earth fruit?" 

"Peaches," Sheppard chimed in. 

"I did not know," Teyla said. The tense set of her shoulders had relaxed slightly and the light from two of New Lantea's moons softened the lines of worry around her eyes. "To me…" She gave Tiffani a wistful smile. "It just smells like home."


End file.
